Countless people from around the world take pleasure in boating every day. Many take excursions or go fishing on various sizes and types of boats, of particular interest are those who utilize powerboats.
A powerboat is any boat that is driven by a motor, such as an electric motor, gasoline motor, or a diesel motor. Often, powerboats are removed from the water after they are used, either placed upon a trailer, lifted into a high-and-dry, of lifted out of the water on a personal boat lift.
As such powerboats are subject to intrusion by water, either water washing over the gunnel of the boat, rain, etc., such water builds up in the hull of the boat. The presence of such water causes several issues, including increased corrosion and excess weight. The excess weight is a particular problem as it is possible that the weight limits of a boat lift are exceeded when the boat accumulates significant amounts of water.
To reduce issues related to water buildup in the hull, many boats have a drain plug, typically at the transom end of the hull. The drain plug is removable from the outside of the transom, so that after placing the boat on a trailer or lifting the boat out of the water. The drain plug is removed and most water in the hull drains from the drain. Additionally, for boats left outside as is often the case for boats on lifts, rain water continues to drain until the drain plug is replaced.
Unfortunately, many boaters have experienced what happens when they forget to replace the drain plug before placing the boat back in the water. Instead of water draining from the drain, water enters the hull through the drain. Hopefully, the boater realizes what is happening before the boat sinks, but unfortunately, in some boats, once the water rises to a certain level, the engine stops, making for serious problems. One popular boating web site asked, “Have you ever forgotten to install the drain plug?” to members and, out of 130 respondents, almost 43 percent admitted to forgetting the drain plug.
What is needed is an apparatus that will help a boater remember to install the boat plug.